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saga of the service pup in training

"I work so my dog doesn't have to". been saying that a lot lately. Most of my paycheck goes to the dogs. Literally. Karma. The good. The bad. The big black Lab.

His mouth has now officially cost more than I paid for him: 2 weeks ago, I go home at lunch to find his lower right jaw swollen to the size of a golf ball. Off to the vet we go. Lots of questions, not many answers. Blood tests. X rays. Any rattle snakes in your yard? Dear God I hope not! (I'm DEATHLY afraid of any snake). Garters, yes, but no rattler sightings. Hubby does a good job of constantly looking out for them. Diagnosis: non venomous spider bite. Ok then. Steroids, antibiotics and benadryl. 2 days later, swelling gone. Karma back to rambunctious self. Last Saturday I find his jaw swollen AGAIN. He was fine when I went to bed the night before. WTF? BACK to the vet. Aspiration of swollen area. Karma NOT amused. Diagnosis: foreing object down into his jaw via the gum line. MORE antibiotics, steroids and now painkillers. Bring him to vet Thursday(yesterday) for surgery to open up area and flush it out. Vet calls at lunch: NO surgery needed. Cause of swelling? Cracked baby tooth which got infected. Removed baby tooth. Problem solved. He'll be in a bit of pain for a day or 2, but he's on antibiotics and painkillers for the meantime.

Tomorrow, Karma takes his first trip as a service dog in training. We are going out of town for my grandson's 2nd birthday! Karma will be accompanying us. I have his uniform ready to go. Will pack his supplies tonight. He's a good traveler so I'm not worried about that and the hotel is pet friendly anyhow. I'm looking forward to this trip! Not only to see my grandson but to travel with Karma. Thankfully, he doesn't get car sick!